Red Moonshine
by Lyrical Rex
Summary: [ItaNaru, NaruSasu, YAOI, Vampire AU]Sasuke just wants to kill Itachi again. Instead he gets into a mess of an underground war between vampires and certain demons.
1. Akatsuki

* * *

**Red Moonshine**

_Akatsuki _**  
**

Red Moon

_

* * *

_

They met at the _Red Moon, _the nightclub down the street from the university. On weekends, it was packed the brim with students lodging in the nearby apartments or dorm rooms closer to the actual school, partying away the stress from the proceeding week. _Red Moon_, abbreviated _Atsu_ by many of its frequenters, was always busy on weekends. Rumor had it that another _Red Moon_ had opened up over in the Suna district, near a university there.

A lone man leaned against the black marble bar counter, a slender digit tracing absently around the rim of an empty shot glass. The low lights of the bar barely illuminated his thin form, tight black pants hugging his waist and a thin sweater covering every inch of his torso. Even with him conserving so much skin, he was clearly handsome, a long black ponytail and locks that framed his delicate features; even the creases across his cheekbones were attractive. Dark eyes studied the crowd of dancers intently even as his shot glass was taken from him and refilled.

Another man, with even longer hair and paler skin, sidled up beside him and signaled the bar tender for a shot. "So _Itachi-kun_," the new arrival purred. "Ready for a game of _Victims_?"

"Not tonight, Orochimaru-sama," Itachi replied. "Tonight I'm playing for keeps."

"Oh?" Orochimaru's yellow eyes followed Itachi's line of vision. "The blond?" his tongue flicked out to wet his lips.

"Delectable, isn't he?" Itachi said. "It would be a shame to have him one night just to throw him away."

"It would be," Orochimaru agreed, sliding closer with a shot glass in hand. "But _Itachi-kun_, is this not your first outing in such a long time? I can help you, you know."

"No thank you," Itachi declined politely as he pushed off of the counter. "Now if you'll excuse me…"

Orochimaru almost pouted, but he looked thoughtfully at Itachi's target. The boy was slight, wearing tan leather pants and a light tank top that left his neck and shoulders bare, glistening with sweat as he moved wildly to the beat. His back was to the bar, but the spiky blonde hair was enough for him to say, "He looks like one of the Fire Agency's Shadows. Be careful, _Itachi-kun." _

Itachi raised a slender eyebrow at the concerned words. "I don't have to listen to you any more."

"You haven't for a long time," Orochimaru agreed, waving the other man off. He downed his shot. "But we'll have to play together next time."

Itachi's target was even more gorgeous up close, he mused as he came up behind the boy. The blond's nice ass gyrated with his hips, and his arms raised above his head in a ridiculous whirlwind type of dance move.

Itachi reached out and encircled a wrist with his fingers. "Hey!" The blond spun around angrily to face his violator but his protests died as soon as he looked up into Itachi's crimson eyes. Itachi, on the other hand, had never seen eyes so _blue_.

He kept eye contact even as he pulled the boy closer to him. "Dance with me."

"Of course," came the breathy reply.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto woke up, sore and stiff. And dammit, the light was hurting his eyes! He groaned, lifting an arm up to shield his eyes from the sunlight filtering through the blinds. He reached across a bundle of bedding for the blinds and closed them quickly. As soon as it was dark again, Naruto snuggled back into his blankets and pillows. It was only when his bare leg brushed against another that he realized there was someone in bed with him.

"Gyah!" he shouted, sitting upright. He stared at the pile he had previously mistaken as blankets in horror as it shifted, black hair showing distinctly through a gap between the edges of the baby blue comforter. His eyes widened even further. "You—!"

Naruto stumbled backwards off of his bed, falling to the ground on his naked butt. A quick glance around the room, clothes sprawled everywhere along with _other_ incriminating evidence of what had happened. He kicked aside a black undershirt with the oh-so-familiar fan logo and found a pair of boxers he remembered changing out of before heading for _Atsu_ yesterday. Wait, what _had_ happened yesterday? The last thing he remembered was the heat of the dance floor…

The bundle in his bed shifted again, and Naruto blushed as he pulled on the boxers so fast he almost gave himself a wedgie. He pointed a shaky finger at the bundle. "Get out of my bed right now, or I'll—"

A man sat up, mussed hair falling all over the place. The blankets slid down, exposing his thin chest to the humid air. The two creases below his dark eyes would make anyone else look old. Naruto's blush deepened and he lowered his finger. "Ah, sorry, I thought you were someone else." The truth was that he had never met this man before, but he knew it was courteous not to kick out someone that just woke up.

The stranger's smirk was really sexy. "It's okay," he said, stretching languidly. His feet touched the carpet and as he stood up, the blankets pooled to the ground. Naruto shied away, except the man caught his eye. "Mm, I'm all sweaty. Join me in the shower, won't you _Naruto-kun?_"

Naruto opened his mouth to answer when he heard a pounding on the front door. Both of them turned their heads to the noise source. "Put that thought on hold," Naruto muttered. "And uh, can you please stay in here?"

* * *

Shikamaru knocked again. Che, if Naruto needed help studying for the finals, why wasn't he answering the door? Shikamaru's lower lip jutted out grumpily. He tugged on an earring. He tapped his toes and counted the planks of wood the overhang was made of. The brunet was just about to walk away when his blonde friend _finally_ answered the door.

"Naruto, you look like shit."

The blond just shrugged and open the door wider. "Get in quick. The light is hurting my head."

Shikamaru stepped into the apartment as Naruto scurried around, shutting the door behind him and then going into the kitchenette, in his underpants. It wasn't anything Shikamaru hadn't seen before, but he really wished the boy would just put on some pants. "Ow!" Shikamaru hissed as his toe stubbed on an overturned packing box. He eyed the boxes in the hallway. "You got drunk, didn't you? Kicking your roommate's stuff around. He'll get pissed off, you know."

"Nah, Kiba and I were sober when we did this," Naruto said, coming out of the kitchenette with a glass of water for Shikamaru. "And the roomie's not my roomie anymore. Gone, remember? He called to say he changed his mind about coming back for this stuff. And I can't believe he even convinced me to pack it all up for him." Naruto bounded into the main room and flopped into the blue armchair.

"Yeah, I heard. What kind of monster did _that_?"

"What?"

Shikamaru pointed at his own neck and gestured back at Naruto. "Those hickeys don't look normal."

Naruto brushed his neck with his fingers and groaned. "Ah, it's too early to be thinking." He dropped his head back.

"Naruto," Shikamaru said, sitting down on the couch, "it's one in the afternoon."

Naruto groaned. "I'm going to take a shower. Don't go in my room."

"Yeah yeah," Shikamaru said, waving Naruto off.

After Shikamaru could hear the shower running at full blast, he set his cup onto the coffee table and stretched himself out comfortably on the couch. He was getting settled to take a short nap when he heard someone come into the room. Shikamaru cracked an eye open to see a stranger with a long ponytail and dark eyes looking at him. He didn't look any older than Shikamaru or Naruto and was wearing a black undershirt and form fitting black pants.

"So you're the roommate? Sorry if we kept you up last night." The guy walked past him and sat down on the armchair and reached for the glass of water on the table.

"Oh, uh, no, I don't live here," Shikamaru corrected, sitting up in his chair. "Just a friend. I'm Shikamaru."

"Itachi." A kind of awkward silence followed.

"So…" Shikamaru started, drumming his fingers together. "You're in the police force?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "How did you guess?"

"The logo is on your shirt. Red fan with a white handle? But you're too young to be in the force. That would mean you're part of the founding clan. You do look almost exactly like Uchiha-san, but isn't he supposed to be the last of his line?"

Itachi was impressed. The fan was printed on the back of his shirt; the boy had probably seen it for only a second at the most. And he remembered the Uchiha Massacre too; after the initial hoopla some four years ago, it faded to the background forgotten. And he knew the only living member of the clan. That would come in handy. Shikamaru wasn't pretty though; Itachi had a personal rule about siring only pretty people. But maybe the boy would be useful anyway…

"Itachi-san?" Shikamaru could have sworn Itachi's eyes were black, but now they were a crimson red. When did—?

"_You will listen to me and do what I say,"_ Itachi whispered.

_"Yes Master."_

_

* * *

Reporting live from R-chama's Lair:_

_ Welcome to **Red Moonshine. Red Moonshine **takes place in the Tokyo megalopolis, but probably will have a bit of a western feel to it. I also Italicize carefully, hint hint. And if you ask something in a review, I just might answer it.  
_

_ Please note that I am not proficient in Japanese. I know stuff from limited research that I do. If I make any mistakes, please feel free to notify me._

_The character for Akatsuki means "dawn" or "daybreak." I accidently had it broken up into "Aka" and "Tsuki", which mean Red and Moon respectively. Oops._

_Tune in next time for new characters, plot development, and someone pining after Naruto. _

_All standard disclaimers apply._

_

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_


	2. Yondaime

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**Red Moonshine**

_Yondaime_

The Fourth

* * *

"Dammit Sasuke, focus!"

"I _am_ focused!" Sasuke gritted out, thrusting a stake into a third vampire. He barely had time to brush the sweaty bangs out of his eyes before another one leaped at him. Only, when he was about to stab it through the heart, it exploded in his face.

"I had it covered, Jiraiya!" Sasuke said crossly. He sneezed at the left over dust as a silver bolt clattered to the ground. A larger man jumped down from the warehouse rafters, strapping a cross bow to his back when he touched the ground.

"Liar," the old man spat. "I know your kind; you think you're young, strong, handsome, and your libido can't be satisfied by hunting demons night after night—"

"Don't group me in with you," Sasuke muttered, dark eyes visually searching the warehouse. Noon sunlight filtered through the hole Jiraiya had made with a fire spell. Sasuke tightened his grip on his stake, just in case there were any vampires left.

"So let's go clubbing tonight, just you and me!" Jiraiya patted Sasuke heartily on the back, almost pitching the poor boy forward. "We'll have some drinks, pick up some chicks. Can't have that sex drive of yours affecting your performance on the field now, can we?"

"I told you _not _to group me like that! And besides, what's with the sudden change in attitude?" Sasuke brushed off his jeans and then his midnight blue shirt. "What woman in their right mind would sleep with an old fart like you any way?"

"You're no fun!" Jiraiya complained as he picked up his bolt and reloaded his crossbow, careful not to cock it. "Even Yon-yon would go clubbing with me!"

"Fourth Shadow?" Sasuke was mildly surprised. "I can't really see that."

Process for clearing out a nest: step one, stake out. That was done the past week, in rotations shared with the other members of the Fire Agency. They had to assess how many vampires were sleeping there, and how strong the vampires were. Luckily, this warehouse housed only two dozen sub par vampires. Then there came step two: cleaning out the nest. This was done in daylight, when they could ambush the sleeping vampires. Then Jiraiya produced some hand seals and melted a large hole in the corrugated iron roof, unrestrained sunlight killing off half a dozen vampires instantly. The ensuing fight was fun, but brief. And now came Sasuke's least favorite part: Step three, recovery.

Well, it was less of a recovery than it was taking what the vampires had in their possession at time of death (or Time of Dusting, as Jiraiya put it). Though the warehouse was pretty much empty, there was a truckload of wooden crates to one wall that the vampires had been guarding. Sasuke kicked aside a black cloak, but it got tangled around his boot. Sighing, he picked it up to tuck it away in his knapsack.

"Whoot! We've got ourselves some alcohol here!" Jiraiya pried off the top of a crate, and held up a bottle of green glass filled with a dark liquid. Sasuke knew little about alcohol, being under aged and opposed to drinking in any case, but supposed it was grape wine. What was strange though was that the bottle was shaped with a wider bottom than wine bottles he remembered having seen. Then again, he could be wrong.

Sasuke trotted over to Jiraiya and eyed the white haired man as he looked through the crate interestedly. "You shouldn't drink it," he warned, anxious to get back to headquarters as soon as possible.

Jiraiya grinned and popped the cork with his pocket knife. "It can't hurt to taste it, right?" He put the bottle to his lips and took a hearty swig. He spat it back out immediately. Alarmed, Sasuke slapped Jiraiya's back as he continued to cough. The older man wiped his mouth and held the bottle to the light.

The stench of blood was nauseating.

"We should take it to Fourth Shadow," Sasuke corrected himself.

Jiraiya was pushing the cork back into the bottle opening. "Yon-yon it is."

* * *

Sasuke carried a heavy crate filled with mismatched bottles cushioned by newspaper and straw down the street. Jiraiya strode ahead of him, a crate carried easily on each shoulder. Sasuke had only been part of the agency for a few months and counting, and he was still getting used to the extraordinary strength his allies displayed.

The Fire Agency's headquarters was located in a beat up house on the bad side of town. It was family owned and operated, the current head of it being the Fourth Shadow, as Sasuke knew him. The next in line was the Fourth's cousin, Tsunade. The Agency was small, of course. Most demon slayers worked alone, and the few factions that worked together were small.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as a kid his own age stepped out of the house. His eyes roamed up and down from the kid's red hair to his fish net shirt to his sandaled feet. Sasuke felt a chill as his eyes landed on the character tattooed to the kid's forehead in red. And then the feeling was gone, the red head brushing past him and continuing down the street.

"Wind Agency's Shadow," Jiraiya supplied, pushing through the open door. "It's rumored that he's a demon and kills with his bare hands. He never sleeps, and his eyebrows were shaved off and glued to Maito Gai's."

In the kitchen, the burly man set down the crates on the square table, and began unpacking them, setting them out carefully so that the bottles, of all shapes and sizes, did not tip over. Jiraiya announced over his shoulder that "We're back!" in a voice loud enough to wake the dead.

"Welcome home," a voice said dryly from the doorway. Sasuke looked to see a busty blonde, but Jiraiya just waved a hand without looking. He continued unpacking as Tsunade sauntered in, curious. She picked up a bottle and opened it. "Did you go out and buy alcohol? You _know_ we're low on cash."

"I found it," Jiraiya said, apparently not noticing (or just ignoring, Sasuke wouldn't be surprised,) Tsunade lifting the bottle to her lips.

"I wouldn't drink tha—" Sasuke started quickly, only to trail off into a gag when Tsunade spit out the red liquid.

"Yuck," she said, wiping her mouth. "Call Neji down here to taste this." Sasuke nodded and headed towards the staircase. "Jairaya, how many cases of this were there?" he heard Tsunade ask.

"A lot. I can only imagine how long it took for them to kill enough to make these."

* * *

"Neji, why are you sitting at my desk?" Sasuke asked from the doorway to the room he shared with Neji.

The boy in question looked up from the picture frame he was studying, unnervingly white eyes blinking in what Sasuke supposed was Neji's deluded version of innocence. Neji was lounging in dark pajama pants and a grey t-shirt from a Konoha University fundraiser, feet on Sasuke's desk, chair tilted back on its hind legs. His long, ebony hair was tied back in a long ponytail, mark of ownership shining on his brow. A smug smirk crossed his aristocratic features and he tapped his fingers on the glass protecting the picture within the silver frame he was holding. "Cute blond," he drawled.

"They've got blood samples for you downstairs," Sasuke said stiffly, his fingers tightening over the door frame.

"Oh?" The demon licked his lips. Neji wasn't a blood sucker, but human blood was always nice. He set the picture down—on the wrong side of the desk, Sasuke noted—and brushed past Sasuke with an air of excitement.

Sasuke huffed as he let go of the door frame and entered his room, stripping off his shirt and tossing it to his bed on the right wall. Sasuke had known Neji since high school, but that didn't make them friends. In fact, they only knew each other because Sasuke was heir to the Uchiha clan, and the Hyuuga family practically adopted him as their own. He never would have thought that, four years later, they would be roommates.

Sasuke paused as he pulled a fresh shirt over his head, looking at the picture with a growing irritation. He moved over to the desk, picking up the frame and running his fingers over the glass. The picture it self was a simple one, a reluctant Sasuke being pulled into the picture by his energetic best friend-slash-rival. The blond was giving his usual fox faced grin and a two fingered peace sign. Sasuke's finger rubbed over the blond's whisker marks. He would rather have stayed with Naruto, but if was going to train under the Fourth Shadow, he would have to live at headquarters. He had only been gone a few months, but he was missing Naruto like crazy.

The corner of Sasuke's mouth turned sharply downward, and he pushed the frame face down on the table. He was getting nowhere if he just stood around _thinking_, and he still needed to give his mission report.

* * *

"Mission Exterminate Nest in Warehouse Seven successful," Sasuke reported. He and Jiraiya stood in front of the Fire Agency's Shadow, giving their mission report. "Crates of bottled blood were found in the warehouse. An estimated twenty crates were there. Three crates were brought back to headquarters, where Neji identified it as virgin's blood. Also, a black cloak with red clouds was found." Sasuke pulled out the cloak that he found, and laid it neatly on the Shadow's desk.

The Fourth Shadow, Arashi, nodded in interest. His elbows rested on the desk in front of him, fingers steepled together in front of his chin. "It seems that _Akatsuki_ is on the prowl."

"Akatsuki?" Sasuke questioned.

"Vampire gang," Jiraiya supplied. "Like the infamous Organization XIII, except closer. Here, in Konoha. They're in Suna too, and are growing in numbers. The vampires we killed today were weak pawns. By the way Yon-yon, I saw Gaara on my way here…"

"Just a friendly meeting between heads of Agencies." Arashi chuckled, running his fingers through his spiky mullet. "Though nothing's friendly with Gaara, especially around the full moon. Speaking of which, Sasuke, you're taking the night off."

"_What?"_ Sasuke was incredulous and a tad angry. "Why?"

"You've been working non stop for two months now. You're tired. You can't handle full moon duty tonight," Arashi explained. He stood up from his desk and closed the folder on top of the messy stack. "The full moon emboldens creatures of the night, and you'd have to be an idiot to go against them in your condition."

"I'm not tired!" Sasuke protested, but he knew Arashi was right. He was worn to the core, and a good night's sleep would probably do him good.

* * *

"He looks like the Fourth," Neji noted casually as he lounged on his own bed. Propped open was an advanced psychology book he was reading for class. "Your year, right? A year below me?" Sasuke only grunted in reply.

Why was he still awake? Neji usually slept through the morning and well into the afternoon. Sasuke was curled on his side, facing the wall. He had decided to take Arashi's advice and get caught up on sleep, but now the suddenly conversational demon was keeping him up.

"I remember. He was dating Sakura-chan about the time I started living here. Lee talked about her all the time. He wouldn't shut up."

And not only was the demon talking, he was talking about _Naruto_. Sasuke missed his friend enough already without having salt rubbed into his wounds. Neji was taking sadistic pleasure in reminding him of what he didn't have. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and concentrated on counting the spots where paint had been chipped off the wall. If they had a window, he would count the clouds. Unfortunately, there was none.

"Didn't you end up living with him—?"

"Shut up!" Sasuke finally sat up and glowered at the older boy. Neji just raised a bemused eyebrow. Sasuke snorted and crossed his arms, turning his face away from Neji's. "I mean, can you talk about something else? Like, virgin's blood. How does that taste?"

Neji practically lit up at the mention of blood. "Oh, it was a _treat_." He held up a beer bottle of the red stuff. "It tastes sweet and fresh, like daisies in the spring."

"You've eaten daisies?" Sasuke said dryly.

"The texture is so smooth and it smells like things Heaven should be made of," he continued, ignoring Sasuke. "The price of virgin blood has been going up lately. Blood banks don't register whether or not the donor is a virgin, and virgins are getting harder to find now. You know, I heard that vampires have an innate ability to sense a virgin. I'm thinking about becoming a vampire. Do you think I could do that?"

A loud knock on the door saved Sasuke from having to answer. "Neji!" the muffled voice of Tsunade called out. "Get ready to go. It's almost sunset!"

"Coming!" Neji called back. He grinned smugly at Sasuke and jumped off of his bed. He was already dressed, and Sasuke wondered vaguely when he'd done that. Neji flicked the off switch on the ceiling light, and paused with his hand on the doorknob. "Have fun house sitting, dead last."

Sasuke snapped at the nickname. Suddenly, he had Neji by the throat and slammed him against the bedroom door. "Don't," he rasped, eyes darkening in anger, "call me _dead last_." Neji just smirked triumphantly.

"Mm, but you know you're getting left behind, right?" The older boy slipped away from Sasuke's death grip and melted into the deep shadows cast by Neji's desk lamp. The door opened up, and Sasuke caught a flash of Neji as he laughed and dashed into the lit hallway.

Now that Neji was gone, Sasuke could actually sleep. But with the noisy demon gone, he ended up thinking instead. _Akatsuki_. Where did he hear the word before? _Akatsuki_. Now pacing in the near darkness, Sasuke almost tripped over the bottle Neji left lying on the ground. Sasuke frowned at it, and remembered how Jiraiya promised that they would go drinking and clubbing. Jiraiya was an annoying, perverted old man. Sasuke remembered how Jiraiya once went to the University when he and Neji went to register for the next semester. He had hit on every woman he met, inviting them to go out with him to _Atsu._

Sasuke's eyes widened. _The Red Moon_. It was that popular club all his classmates seemed to go to, even Naruto. Suddenly, he was not feeling tired anymore.

* * *

Neji licked and polished his silver dagger as he leaped from roof to roof. He just _loved_ the night of the full moon. It was the one night he could wreak the most destruction. Tonight's hunting had been particularly good; it was only ten at night and he'd already killed a handful of D-class vampires, a demon that possessed people after intercourse, and a werewolf that was running around the University campus. In fact, he was going to get himself a drink to celebrate.

_Red Moon_ was the most demon infested nightclub in the entire district. They even offered medical blood as a drink, labeled _Bloody Mary_, of course, so that any humans wouldn't find out. Neji came in for a drink now and then; the atmosphere didn't really suit him, but he came out here when he was out hunting, on a break. "Neji-kun, yeah!" the bartender with lengthy blond hair greeted. His hair was high in a ponytail, except for the piece covering his left eye. "You haven't been in for a while, cutie. I missed you, yeah. We just got a new drink. It's called _Virgin Mary_ and I thought I'd let my favorite customer taste, yeah! Do you want one?"

Neji grinned at him. "Thanks, Deidara." The bartender winked and bustled off.

Neji watched the club; there were all types of people there. A little more than a third of the attendees were human, and the entire place reeked of smoke, sex, and alcohol. He even spotted a few of his classmates from the university on the dance floor. The loud music and the spinning lights were starting to make his head hurt. How could people stand coming here every week?

"Here you go!" Deidara was back, setting down a glass of red liquid in front of Neji. He smiled weakly at the blond. "It's essentially a _Bloody Mary_, only it's—"

Deidara's voice was getting distant. Everything was. The music was starting to dull, and Neji's head was hurting like hell. He'd barely taken a sip of blood when white-hot pain flashed behind his eyeballs, and a deafening scream rang within his ears.

_Hinata! _Neji's head lifted instantly, surprising Deidara. "Neji-kun, are you—?"

"Apologies, Deidara. I have to go." Neji jumped up from his barstool, and quickly made his way out the door. _Something was terribly wrong._

* * *

Deidara sighed, picking up the glass and moving it over to another customer. "Here's your usual—" Deidara stopped mid-sentence when he noticed who he was talking to. "Ah, I'm sorry. I'm afraid I had you mistaken with a regular customer of mine, yeah."

The kid with black, spiky hair raised a slender eyebrow at the bartender. Deidara had never seen him before, but he did look familiar. Also, Deidara thought, sniffing the air, this boy was only a human. A pretty hot one at that. He could have sworn—"What do you want to drink, yeah?" Deidara asked his new customer, whisking the _Virgin Mary_ away. He would drink it later himself.

"Ginger ale, please," the human said politely. Deidara just smiled and turned to get the soda. When he turned back, the human was chatting up a certain blond Deidara had become accustomed to seeing around. Or rather, it looked more like Naruto was chatting up the human. Deidara was mildly surprised; Naruto rarely came around to chat, and as of late, he had never been seen without a certain vampire. Maybe he and the human already knew each other through classes?

"Here's your ginger ale, yeah! Naruto-kun, would you like a drink?"

"Yes please!" the blond said excitedly. "I want a beer!"

"You're underage, _dead last,_" the human said, rolling his eyes.

"You're not my mother, _bastard_!"

Deidara chuckled and got Naruto a beer anyway. He would have stayed and chatted with them, partly to see if Itachi really condoned Naruto being with another man and partly to protect Naruto if something happened to that end, but he had work to do. Just as well, he figured. He needn't worry; Itachi would have a good grip on his _spawn_. They were probably just catching up with each other.

Later, Deidara was taking a cigarette break in the cool air outside when he spotted a heated make out session between the two people he had seen earlier. "Do you wanna come to my place?" the brunet asked throatily as the blond held him roughly against the dirty brick wall.

Deidara was floored when Naruto, _Itachi-spawn_, accepted the offer.

* * *

She was screaming so loud Neji could feel her throat tearing. "Hinata-sama, where are you?" he muttered angrily, trying to follow the red string that connected them. He followed it to a sudden expanse of green—the district park. Artificial rivers twisted through artificial hills, trees rose from the ground, mocking him as they waved in the slight wind.

He could hear her now. Not just in his throbbing head, but through his ears. "Hinata-sama!" he cried out. "Hinata-sama! Where are you?"

"Neji-niisan?" Her voice was hysteric, sobbing. If he melded into the shadows, he could make twice the time.

Hinata had stopped screaming, her voice hoarse and raspy as she cried. Near the center of the park, she was on the little fake key between rivers; the water ran swiftly, but the rivers were only a couple meters wide. She was wet from the breast down, cradling a mangled arm. Neji was furious at the werewolf pacing the bank across from her.

It yelped when he appeared out of nowhere, pulling out his dagger to stab its heart. "No!" Hinata cried out. Neji almost hesitated, but that was enough for the wolf to roll away, only getting a stab through a front paw. It growled at the demon, but he growled back just as ferociously. The wolf yipped and limped away.

"Hinata-sama!" he yelled. "Hinata-sama, are you alright?"

"My arm is nearly torn off!" she cried hysterically.

"Don't worry Hinata-sama! I'll help you!" But he was really biting his lip, frustrated. Hinata was a smart girl, crossing running water to get away from the werewolf. Dark creatures couldn't cross running water. Unfortunately, Neji was a dark creature. "_Dammit_," he cursed under his breath. He dug out an injection needle Arashi had equipped him with. It was a Wind Agency product, a gift from the Shadow's grandmother. The serum was supposed to prevent a werewolf victim from changing, but if he couldn't get it to her in an hour, it wouldn't work. Neji fumbled through his pockets for his cellular phone; he could think better now that Hinata wasn't in mortal peril, but he had already wasted twenty precious minutes since the wolf bit her. "Come _on_," he muttered at the phone impatiently as it rang. "Pick_ up_, Sasuke!"

The phone went unanswered.

"Stupid _dead last_!" he exclaimed, dialing another number. "Hinata-sama's been bitten," he started before the person on the other end could even greet him. "I need someone to come to the park _right now_. She's across the river, so I can't reach her. I have Chiyo-sama's serum, but Hinata couldn't inject it on her own. Arashi, send someone to _help her!_"

"Shizune will be there as quickly as possible. In the mean time, are there any bridges you can cross?"

"It's the key in the center of the river. No one is supposed to even be on there." Another five minutes wasted. Frustrated, Neji paced along the bank of the river, resisting the urge to howl. A few minutes later, Shizune still wasn't there. And Hinata was—

"Neji-niisama," she called out. "Neji-niisama, don't be disappointed in me."

Neji's eyes snapped to where Hinata was sitting, shivering in her wet clothes and cradling her bloody arm. As he watched, her skeleton reshaped itself, and fur sprouted up along her entire body. Bones creaked loudly, and the stench was disgusting.

Chiyo's estimations of an hour before a victim turned were wrong. Either that, or Hyuuga Hinata was below average.

* * *

_Live from R-chama's Lair_: 

_This chapter must be the longest chapter I have ever written._ _It is twice as long as the last chapter, which on its own is _still _longer than my average chapter. I pride myself in taking good care of trying to make my Naruto stories longer than my other (cough yugioh) stories, but I didn't take as much care in this chapter, since it was _already _so freaking long (at least for me). I mean, there are freaking contractions still in the narration! It probably doesn't bother people as much as it bothers me, so I'm not going to spend another day revising and making people wait. Also, I don't think I could have dared trying to catch everything on my own.  
_

_I hate action. I can't do action. Writing Neji was difficult. Writing Deidara was too, but fun (even though I didn't get him right). Deidara's narration of Sasuke and Naruto is a little skewed._

_**Story notes (in which you get a cool opportunity):**_

_ Please note that I am not proficient in Japanese. I know stuff from limited research that I do. If I make any mistakes, please feel free to notify me._

_The character for Akatsuki means "dawn" or "daybreak." I accidently had it broken up into "Aka" and "Tsuki", which mean Red and Moon respectively. Oops.**  
**_

_Note 1: _ _The red string of fate that connects Neji and Hinata does NOT mean they are destined lovers, just that they are connected in a special way. Or maybe they are destined lovers. Who knows?  
_

_Note 2: _"Dead Last"_ is a translation of "dobe" that I particularly liked from the subs I watched._

_Notes 3: Whoever tells me who the werewolf is gets a minor monster named after them. Deadline: When chapter three, tenatively "Weasel" debuts, seeing as the werewolf is named therein. (/incentive to review)_

_Tune in next time for even more characters and more plot and Itachi's clique.  
_

_All standard disclaimers apply.  
_

* * *


	3. Ookami

* * *

**Red Moonshine**

_Ookami_

Wolf

* * *

It took three tranquilizer darts to subdue the werewolf. By the time Shizune had arrived from all the way across Konoha, Hinata had been pacing, growling and snarling, for at least ten minutes. Ten minutes too long for Neji, Shizune thought as she holstered her tranquilizer gun. As a medic and a squeamish human, Shizune tended not to kill, especially not werewolves, as many tended to be mild mannered and sweet twenty-seven days out of twenty-eight.

Hinata's atramentous fur was damp and slick with fevered sweat, and she was breathing erratically, right foreleg still shredded and seeping blood. Shizune brought her limp body across to the bank where Neji hovered worriedly, unable to do anything. "What's wrong?" he asked anxiously as Shizune frowned.

"She's bleeding too much," she said, producing hand seals necessary for an advanced blood clotting spell. "Lycanthrope wounds reject spell work, so I don't know if this will work, or how long it will last." Shizune bound the leg tightly in white bandages, and the blood stained the cloth right away. "We have a stock of healing potion at the house; this should last until then. You should be able to take care of her until the rest of us get back." Neji didn't need to hear anymore; he had already gathered Hinata's prone body in his arms, and was off.

God, it was so unfair! Neji, of all people, knew how demon phobic the Hyuuga clan was. He had been banned from contact with the members of the family years ago, after the Uchiha lot all—

Neji's thoughts broke off as a black cat darted across the street, yowling loudly as the demon almost stepped on it. Sasuke. The name disgusted him; why hadn't Sasuke answered his call? In the few months that Sasuke was with the Agency, the Uchiha had never had home sitting duty, and the _one night_ he had it, he decided to play hooky, and do God-knows-what. Damn it, Sasuke.

It didn't take too long to reach headquarters, but he wanted to kick aside the stray tabby whining on the doorstep. If Neji were as suspicious as Tsunade, he would have thought it extremely unlucky to run across two cats in one night, but they weren't even the same breed.

His fingers fumbled with the key and lock, and he was furious when he found out the door was unlocked all along. What was Sasuke _doing_?

In the house, he took Hinata to his room where he laid her in his bed, tucking the covers around her wolfish body. She shivered feverishly, and he ran his fingers through her matted fur protectively. His nose twitched at the smell of semen, and turned to see Sasuke sprawled chest down on his bed, nude with dirty sheets tangled around his ankles. Sasuke's partner in crime was nowhere to be seen, and Neji supposed that she—or he, Neji corrected, knowing the Uchiha way too well—had left as soon as the ebon haired boy was asleep. With a disgusted snort, Neji cast Sasuke's down comforter over him and formed a hand seal for a simple demon art to freshen the air.

Neji hated the smell of sex, and damn it if Hinata was going to wake to it.

In the study, Neji found the cabinet stocked with new potions and serums from the helpful Chiyo-sama, for everything from healing paper cuts to sating vampire urges to healing silver wounds, but there was nothing to cure lycanthrope, and Neji found it frustrating that the closest thing to it was the lycanthrope prevention serum he had been too late to administer. He found the healing potion, and took the blue vial back to his room, where he gently pried Hinata's jaws open to swallow it and he stayed awake for the next few hours until dawn.

* * *

The Red Moon was closed before the sun rose, but around seven the next morning, two young men arrived at the darkened door of the club.

The one in an oversized hoodie scanned the area before drawing one hand from his pocket and knocking on the closed door. His companion with a high and spiky ponytail leaned against the wall boredly, surveying the building front nonplussed. "I don't know why you're going through this trouble," he drawled. "You've sired others."

"Not the love of my life!" the other snapped. "And anyway, siring is what _vampires_ do. Can't you just use the word _turn_?"

The pony tailed boy opened his mouth to counter, but the door swung open abruptly, cold air spilling out and silencing him. No one was on the other side.

* * *

The Akatsuki Nine, contrary to popular belief, was comprised of more than just vampires. Kisame, for example, was a water demon, and ate fish for dinner. Zetsu had a dual personality, split down the center with a sadistic ebon colored right half and an emotionless, robotic, ivory left half, and liked to eat his meals raw and chunky. Tobi didn't eat dinner; as the Nine sat around the table, the faceless demon conversed instead with the demons Kazuka and Hidan.

The Nine sat around the round table in the backroom after the club closed, catching up on reports and progress. This was dinner for them; the four vampires sipped on bloody cocktails and the ones who ate, ate. Other than the Nine, it was rare for others to join the group. Once in a while, Orochimaru brought in one of his many fledglings, and as of late, one of the other vampire's spawns had been coming often.

"Yeah, Uchiha," Deidara started as he set down his glass, "Why do you let Naruto sit in your lap like that?" A few seats away, aforementioned petite blond was curled up on Itachi's thighs, arms around his sire's neck.

For all intents and purposes, Naruto didn't _look_ nineteen. He looked fifteen, sixteen at the most. Heck, _Itachi_ was turned at his age, and looked way older than the blond.

Naruto just stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry. You're just _jealous_," he taunted childishly. Deidara huffed; he couldn't _stand_ the boy, perhaps because the other blond reminded him so much of himself.

"If I do recall correctly," Itachi said, "You did the exact same to Sasori as _Naruto-kun_ is doing now."

The red head sitting between them nodded. "It's true, _Deidara-kun_."

"But _Sasori-danna_," Deidara whined, eyes filling with mock tears, "Blood should be thicker than water! Why are you siding with Uchiha? Yeah! _You _never sat in Orochimaru's lap!"

"If Orochimaru let his fledglings sit in his lap, do you know how bloody the fight would be?" Itachi said.

"While this is entertaining," Zetsu's robotic voice cut in, "I really would like to know what happened to the _Virgin Stock _that was supposed to come in last night." All eyes turned to him; out of the nine of them, Zetsu was the one who directly reported to the leader of the gang. "I'm sure," Zetsu's black side added, "that Leader-sama will not be pleased to know about the lost order."

Eyes shifted to Orochimaru, who's small little gang had been in charge of the operation. "I'll send _Kabuto-kun_ to check," he said dismissively, sipping on blood. "I'm sure nothing is wrong."

"Oh!" Deidara said, suddenly remembering something. He turned to Itachi. "I saw your brother earlier. I almost mistook him for you."

"I know," Itachi smirked, scratching Naruto's head like he was a kitten. "_Naruto-kun _here kept him busy for me, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Naruto purred. "He invited me home and everything. Shame Neji came home and everything; we didn't finish having fun yet."

"Neji?" Tobi asked sharply. "Hyuuga Neji? Your _brother_ is living with the Fire Agency?"

Itachi ignored him. "Speaking of which, we have guests."

Naruto perked up. "Shikamaru?"

"And that other friend of yours…"

On cue, the door to the main bar opened, and two darker haired males entered self consciously, a hooded boy with his hands stuck deep in his jacket pocket and a disinterested one with his fingers linked behind his neck. Naruto's mouth opened to an impossible width. "Kiba! Shika!" he greeted enthusiastically, bouncing on his knees.

"Yo," the boys said. Kiba pulled off his hood, revealing his short, fluffy brown hair. His anxious brown eyes immediately turned to the red headed vampire in the chair next to his friend. Sasori raised an impassive eyebrow, silently asking what the younger wanted. "You're a potions master, right Sasori?"

Sasori took a lengthy sip, and Kiba licked his lip nervously. "Maybe," the red head replied. "What do you need?"

"Something to reverse the effects of a werewolf wound," he answered quickly.

"Idiot," Shikamaru spoke up, grapping Kiba's left wrist and pulling it out of Kiba's pocket. Show this first, won't you?" Kiba's left hand was wrapped inexpertly in a bloody bandage, awkwardly embalmed with petroleum jelly.

"This is nothing," Kiba snapped, pulling his hand away. Sasori caught it and brought it to eye level.

"A silver wound is easier to heal than lycanthropy itself," the vampire said. Kiba shivered at the feel of the cold hand on his, but didn't pull it back. "There isn't actually a cure on hand for that, but I suppose I could make one. What's in it for me?"

Kiba hesitated. "The Clan would be indebted to you."

Sasori released Kiba's hand abruptly, and made a move to stand. "Nothing of use to me," he said.

"Wait!" Kiba said, a touch of desperation in his voice. "The Wind Agency."

"The Wind Agency?" Sasori sank back into his dining chair, interest piqued.

"Yeah. This guy here slept with the Shadow's sister, and most likely the shadow himself. He can get all sorts of information on them." Shikamaru threw Kiba a dirty look.

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Anything Shikamaru knows, Itachi knows. No deal."

"Oh come on," Orochimaru drawled. "A hundred werewolves at your service and a means of toppling the Wind Agency? _I_ would make the deal."

Sasori took a long look at Kiba. He sighed, and a bit reluctantly said, "Alright, fine. I'll see what I can do. But, I want to make one demand." Sasori leaned in so close to Kiba that his eyes crossed. "_You_, oh heir to the Inuzuka Clan, will bend to my every whim. I want something from you,_ I get it."_

Kiba barely hesitated to nod his head wildly. "Deal."

* * *

Sasuke woke from what was either a wonderful dream or a chilling nightmare. In either case, he woke up foggy and warm, black comforter pressed against his bare skin. Last night had been a whirl of heat, and he had dreamed of Naruto; it must have been a dream, because Naruto was never so feral, never had red eyes. He would never have come to bed with him.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," he heard Neji greet coldly. "Did you have sweet dreams?"

"What time is it?" Sasuke asked groggily, sitting up in bed.

"Morning," Neji replied. "Nine maybe? Ten?" Neji was sitting in his desk chair, drawn up by his bed; the light was on, and he was reading a novel, even though he was nodding off. He had changed his clothes, but the buttons weren't done up right and the folds weren't pulled out straight. "Where were you last night?"

Sasuke got out of bed and went over to his wardrobe to get dressed. "Where do you think I was?"

"Not at your post," Neji hissed. "I called for back up, and you didn't answer."

"I was sleeping," Sasuke countered. "What are you so worked up about?"

"Your fiancé," Neji snapped.

"My fianc—Hinata?" Sasuke's shirt was halfway on, but he spun around to see that indeed, the soft spoken girl was asleep, fitfully, in Neji's bed. He shouldn't have been surprised; only Hinata could get Neji worried. He _was_ created to take care of her, after all. Sasuke hadn't seen Hinata for ages, not since he came to the Fire Agency. "What happed to Hinata?"

"She was attacked by a werewolf," Neji replied darkly. "It turned her."

"What was she doing out so late?" was Sasuke's first question. "No, wait, did you get the wolf?"

Neji shook his head. "I don't know, and I would have gotten it if she hadn't stopped me."

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said.

"She's lost everything now. She's just like me."

* * *

Shizune had held up her promise, and had come back just before dawn. She found Neji with Hinata in his room, and she insisted on moving the girl to her room, where Tsunade would be to help and they wouldn't bother Sasuke's sleep. Hinata woke up as she changed back, screaming in pain as her bones reshaped themselves; Shizune placed a silencing art around the room so that the neighbors wouldn't hear, and once the Hyuuga girl was back to her usual form, she began to sob, eyes wide and frightened.

"Hinata-sama," Neji said, reaching out to touch her. She scrambled back, hiding herself in the corner of the bed, closest to the wall. She huddled to herself, hugging her knees to her chest with both arms to hide her nakedness. "Hinata?" Neji's voice was strained with hurt. "Hinata-sama, it's me. Neji—"

Tsunade laid her hand on his shoulder, effectively silencing him. "Neji, I don't think she needs you right now."

Neji swallowed thickly. "I understand. I will be waiting in the hall." He bowed and exited the room.

Hinata shook inconsolably and refused to talk as the medics dressed her wound; the bandages broke when the smaller foreleg became a larger arm, and the bleeding had slowed and begun to clot. Tsunade wiped Hinata's face with a warm, wet wash cloth. "She has a fever," she murmured. She ran the cloth ran down Hinata's arms, legs, and back, cleaning off blood that had stuck as clumps in her fur. Gradually, Hinata relaxed, and soon took a cloth to clean the rest of her body.

Shizune came back with clothes and a potion that Hinata took, and soon the girl was feeling warm and sleepy, no longer hurting. She rubbed at her freshly bandaged arm, eyes downcast even as the older woman helped her into a short sleeved button down top. "Will Neji-niisan be angry with me?"

"Of course not," Shizune assured her.

"But—I made his life Hell, and last night, I hurt him really badly. When I screamed…" Shizune clasped her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. Hinata-san," she said in a firm voice. "Neji is bound to you. The mark he bares is connected to you. He has nothing without you, _is_ nothing without you, and he cares for you more than anything." Shizune smiled kindly at her. "He's really worried about you. He watched over you this entire time. Would you like to see him?"

Hinata nodded shyly.

When Neji came in again, Tsunade excused herself to do some paperwork, and Shizune left with her. "Hinata-sama," he said tentatively.

Hinata slid off the bed and stood in front of the demon. She was dressed in one of Sasuke's t-shirts and a pair of his floor length pajama bottoms; even though Sasuke was closest to Hinata in size, his t-shirt was a little large on her, and the pants still pooled around her feet, threatening to trip her. He eyed the white bandages wrapped around her entire right arm. She smiled nervously. "Ne - Neji-niisama. Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I needed to make sure you were alright."

Hinata blushed and averted her eyes. "I'm o – okay. Just a little tired is all."

"Then you should sleep," he replied. He glanced at Shizune's bed.

"Only with you." As soon as the words came out, Hinata gasped and clamped her hands over her mouth. "I – I mean, I feel safe with you around. An – And your bed is warm. And—"

Neji's face was shocked at first, and quickly melted into a soft smile. "Of course, Hinata-sama."

* * *

_ R-chama's asdfghjklair:_

_Gah! I'm sorry! Was this too filler-y? x.x There was like, no Sasuke, and like, no Naruto. Sorry! The plot is spinning itself into Neji/Hina. NO! Don't! I mean, Neji/Hina isn't bad, but the point of this story was to have a vampire!NaruSasu, not a werewolf!HinaNeji!_

_I would have written about Sasuke's wild night out, but I didn't have room in the chapter, plus... (idon'twritehotyaoi.)_

_Uhm, yeah._

_ **Here are some chapter notes:**_

_ Please note that I am not proficient in Japanese. I know stuff from limited research that I do. If I make any mistakes, please feel free to notify me.  
_

_The character for Akatsuki means "dawn" or "daybreak." I accidently had it broken up into "Aka" and "Tsuki", which mean Red and Moon respectively. Oops._

_For those of you unfamiliar with the Akastuki group or read translations where some of the honorifics were omitted, Deidara does indeed call Sasori "Sasori no Danna" (or so it says in wikipedia, but in the scanlations I read, it was Sasori-danna). I heard somewhere that Danna is what housewives sometimes call their husbands, but I really don't know._

_ Tune in next time! More Sasuke, more Naruto, maybe more Kiba, but I really want more Akatsuki. Maybe a little backtracking to high school!_

_And Sakura makes a cameo. :3_

_all standard disclaimers apply._

* * *


	4. Neji

* * *

**Red Moonshine**

_Neji_

Screw

* * *

Hatake Kakashi juggled a briefcase, a stack of portfolios, and his coffee as he struggled to lock his apartment door. He was very careful with the coffee, considering he was wearing a new suit, grey and made of the fine imitation silk (he was wearing it for a _certain someone._) He paused, fingers of one hand holding both his key in the lock and his coffee mug. 

"Good morning, Kakashi," a voice greeted behind him. "Would you like any help?"

"Ah, yes please, Sasuke-kun. If you could grab a hold of some of these portfolios—" Instead, a pallid hand reached out and took hold of his coffee mug. Kakashi didn't resist mainly because that would make the liquid spill, but he frowned in any case. "Hey, I said portfolios, not coffee!"

Sasuke shrugged and stepped back as Kakashi finished locking the door. "I'm looking for information concerning recent gang activities in the area." They both knew the type of gang Sasuke was talking about—supernatural creatures.

"Only if you help me with these portfolios, Sasuke-kun," Kakashi replied.

* * *

Kakashi had been a hunter for years now, originally under the command of the Fire Agency. Because of his young age, it was often assumed that his grey hair was a product of the horrors he had seen. An accident years ago left him with an eye patch and a scar that stretched out beneath it. He had been a close family friend to the Uchiha, hence him being Sasuke's official guardian until the boy moved out and started going to the university that Kakashi himself worked at. He also was the one who referred Sasuke to the Fire Agency when the boy firmly decided that he wanted revenge in the name of Uchiha. The brat should be thankful. 

"Are you going to answer me at all?" Sasuke was annoyed.

Kakashi chuckled. "Of course. But I can't answer you off the top of my head; we'll have to wait until we get to the library."

"Che," Sasuke hissed under his breath. Kakashi lived in one of the student apartments even though he was faculty, so it wasn't that long of a walk. Kakashi could only guess why Sasuke was so agitated this early in the morning.

"Oh yeah. Why are you here so early, Sasuke-kun? Don't your classes start in the afternoon?"

"I've had a couple nights off, caught up on my sleep. Neji's been home too; he's been driving me insane." Sasuke scowled, his steps on the pavement quickening ever so slightly. "On top of that, Hyuuga Hinata is recuperating at the house. Neji spends all his time doting on her and reprimanding me for not helping her take a piss." Kakashi quirked an eyebrow; Neji must be really irritating, if Sasuke's last, vehement, sarcastic remark was anything to go by. The Uchiha usually wasn't so snappish, and Kakashi didn't think he had ever heard the boy curse.

"So you just wanted to get out of the house?" Kakashi chuckled.

"I needed to get caught up on some research any way."

* * *

Kakashi pulled out his keys again, this time to unlock the double doors to the campus library. "Welcome to Konoha University's state of the art library!" Kakashi said playfully. He swept his arm out, displaying the large room, with myriad bookcases lining the wall and forming mazes. A set of study tables took most of the center space, and there was even a second level. There was both a librarian's desk by the entrance they just came in through, and another one on the second level nearer the back entrance. "I'm not sure if you've been here before, but we have almost every book in existence! Well, kind of." Kakashi paused and nibbled the tip of his thumb cutely, feigning confused thoughts. "I work here," he added as an afterthought. 

"Stop joking around," Sasuke growled. "Where do I put these?"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head and looked around him as if trying to decide. "Oh, the office is in the back, the door on the right. Iruka should be in there. I think he sleeps here—IRUKA-CHAN!"

Sasuke jumped at the last, portfolios almost tipping. A few moments later, a door slammed open. "What? What's going on? Is it Behemoth? Did—"

Kakashi guffawed, covering his mouth with a hand. Sasuke ignored him. "It's okay, Sensei," the student called out. "That was just Kakashi being Kakashi."

"Kakashi-san, haven't I told you _not_ to do that? I'm checking through the Old Books, and you _know _how agitated I get when—" Iruka stopped as he appeared, looking down to them from the stairs. Sasuke followed his line of vision to Kakashi, who just smiled cutely and waved. He didn't understand what was so interesting; the only thing new was that Kakashi was wearing a proper suit at work, for once. "Uh-uhm-" the other librarian stammered. His eyes darted to the side and landed on Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun! You haven't been here for a while! Do you need to put these back in the office? Here, I'll help." Iruka rushed down and took the stack of portfolios from Sasuke and rushed back up with amazing haste. "Do you need anything? Kakashi probably made you carry these in turn for research or help or something."

"I'm looking for information on recent gang activity in the area," Sasuke told him, following him up the steps. "In particular, ones that own nightclubs."

"Gangs?" Iruka turned his head questioningly. He was an occultist, not a law enforcement officer. "Why would—oh." Iruka could have slapped his head against a desk. "You mean demon related gangs, am I right?" Sasuke nodded gravely. "Ah. Well, the two biggest gangs now are _Akastsuki_ and _Oto_, though I believe _Oto_ is an off shoot of the _Akatsuki_. They own the night clubs _Red Moon_ and _Sound of_ respectively. There is another group, Organization XIII, that's moving into town—they just bought out a nightclub in the red light district." Iruka shuffled over to his desktop and clicked around. "I'll get some information for you about the individual groups and their clubs, okay?"

"That's great," Sasuke replied gratefully. "Thank you."

* * *

Deidara slept in a queen sized bed with a large, comfortable duvet in black. After a long night on his feet, he liked to curl up and sleep. Only he couldn't sleep, perturbed for whatever reason, and Naruto was in his room. "Whaddya want, yeah?" the older vampire snapped. 

"I can't sleep, so I was wondering if maybe you wanted to talk or something." Naruto shifted his feet; he wore bedclothes patterned with red clouds on black, too adorable on his small frame. "Everyone else is asleep." Deidara made an effort to be negative, but ended up sighing and tossing back the bed covers and moving over.

"Come in if you must," he said, and Naruto lit up like a puppy and bounded into the room and flopped onto his bed.

Deidara glared irritably at the younger blond. The boy's wide blue eyes grinned at him. Naruto was too human, Deidara frowned. Itachi was being too slow in turning the kid; Sasori had taken all of Deidara's humanity in a week, but here was Naruto, a few _months_ into fledgling hood, and he still couldn't sleep during days. He couldn't go out in the sun either, and Deidara had to admit that it probably sucked. The others were all asleep, which meant Naruto would stay up all alone. Sasori had taken most of _his_ humanity in a week.

"Deidara?" Naruto asked. The elder almost snapped at him again, this time to add an honorific to his name. "How do I become a full fledged vampire?"

Deidara wondered why the kid was asking _him_ of all people, but sucked it up and replied, "As long as your sire takes blood from you—thrice a month, I hear is the magic number—you'll be his fledging, yeah. The longer you're bonded, the stronger the bond is, and your power too, yeah."

Naruto bobbed his head in agreement. "I know what you mean. It's like he can read my mind and I can hear his thoughts."

"The downside is that if he stops, you'll die," Deidara continued.

"_Die_?" Naruto yelped.

Deidara nodded gravely. "But if your sire gives you his own blood to drink, you will become a full fledged vampire. However, the bonds between you are broken, yeah."

Naruto sat still for a moment, before he asked another pointless question: "Who sired Itachi?"

"Uchiha?" Deidara chuckled. "Uchiha's story is kind of funny, yeah. See, Uchiha and Kabuto were in the same class in school when Orochimaru sired them both. They were both smart and the top of the class, yeah. Competed over _everything_. So, so apparently, Orochimaru's fledglings all _love _him, and Kabuto got insanely jealous of having to share with Uchiha, so Orochimaru gave Uchiha his blood and set him free. This was, um, four years ago. Yeah."

Naruto's brow furrowed. "Wait, so Kabuto's been Orochimaru's fledgling for four years?"

"Six, I think," Deidara corrected. "Can't tell, yeah? He's been around long enough to be almost exactly like a full vampire, only he can't sire his own, yeah. You know when fledglings sire someone, _their_ fledglings are really their sire's fledgling? Like if you sired Little Uchiha, Big Uchiha will be bonded with him too, yeah."

Naruto's mouth opened in a silent _Oh. _"How about you?"

"Hm?" Deidara was getting tired of answering questions by now, and he really did want sleep.

"Since when have you been a full vamp?"

Deidara shrugged. "Yeah, can't really say."

"Why, too long ago?"

* * *

Sasuke found himself browsing the shelves in the library alone when he ran into an old friend. 

"Hello, Sakura," Sasuke greeted.

"Sasuke-kun, so nice to see you," Sakura replied. She smiled brightly, eyes lighting up at the sight of her old crush. Her pink hair was shaped into a bob now, and she wore a pair of fitted jeans and a red baby tee shirt.

Sasuke gave a strained smile and continued with polite conversation. "How are you?"

"I've been fine," Sakura bubbled. "How about you?"

"Good," Sasuke replied. He wasn't in the mood for conversation. Actually, he rather wished that Sakura would just go away. He moved onto the next shelf, but Sakura followed him.

"How's the hunt for Itachi going?" she asked. "I popped by Iruka's office, and he was making copies of the _Akatsuki_ files. Have you caught up to Itachi yet?"

"No," Sasuke sighed. "We suspect the _Akatsuki_ of selling blood. Not any type of blood either—virgin blood. As you know, selling blood is illegal, and we're pretty sure that if they're selling virgin blood, they're killing the virgins." Sasuke then realized what Sakura had said. He turned to face her. "Wait, you know something about Itachi?"

"You don't know?" Sakura clasped a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry! I didn't know you didn't—I mean, I—"

"Sakura, what do you know about Itachi that I don't?"

* * *

Neji hadn't wanted to tell Hiashi what happened to his daughter, but Arashi called the Hyuuga anyway. In that case, Neji had pleaded, he wanted to skip his classes and be there with Hinata when her father came. Arashi _knew_ how phobic the clan was of supernatural creatures. But the Shadow pointed out that if Neji were there, Hiashi would end up blaming the entire thing on Neji, and that could be a step back. 

So Neji headed out to his classes.

Neji majored in business, like his roommate, and he took an economics course that met twice a week, so he wasn't well acquainted with anyone in his class except for Inuzaka Kiba, who he had known since his junior high school days. Kiba was the heir to a wealthy yakuza family, and probably Hinata's best friend, which more than annoyed Neji, when Hiashi had deemed that yakuza _scum_ more worthy of Hinata than the demon he had created to protect her in the first place.

Neji sat restlessly in his desk, tapping his fingers against his desk constantly. He couldn't wait for the two hours of class to be over and he could go home, where he was sure Hiashi was meeting with Hinata and the people in charge of the Fire Agency. He spent the class period glaring at anything that caught his eye. It was during this time that he noticed Kiba resting his chin in one palm, propped on his desk. His left hand was bulkily gloved. Kiba did _not_ wear gloves.

Neji had thought the werewolf from the other night felt familiar.

* * *

Sasuke sat politely through the meeting with the head of the Hyuuga clan and his daughter, Hanabi. He knew he should feel something, knowing that he was here because Hinata was now disowned and Hyuuga Hiashi felt the marriage between his family and the Uchiha family was still important enough to go through with no matter how many times the individuals engaged to each other changed. Hanabi was thirteen; Sasuke mused idly that there was the same age gap between him and his new fiancé as there had been between Itachi and Hinata. But his thoughts focused entirely on the information Sakura had told him. 

Itachi was one of the_ Akatsuki Nine_. The elite of the underworld vampires.

He didn't know why it annoyed him so much that _Sakura_ of all people had known this crucial information before he had. Sakura hadn't even known about the supernatural until he saved her life a couple years back. Now she was the hands and feet of the information base for many of the independent hunting agencies in the city. How did that work out?

His thoughts were interrupted when Neji came charging angrily into the house, a familiar brunet in tow. He marched up to the Hyuuga clan head and thrust Kiba in front of him. "This is the man who turned Hinata into a werewolf. What should I do with him?"

Kiba's eyes were wide with fright and an undercurrent of guilt. "What are you talking about?" he asked incredulously. "Something happened to Hinata?"

"Don't lie," Neji snapped, tugging at Kiba's left. "You _never_ where gloves, Inuzaka. You're only doing so now to hide the wound I gave you when I stabbed you through with a _silver knife_." And with that, pulled the glove clear off his hand, only to show that it was clean.

Sasuke knew that had Kiba been a werewolf, stabbed through the paw with silver, the wound would smolder and eat up his hand. Had Neji finally snapped?

"That's enough, child!" Hiashi exclaimed. "I've been gracious enough to let you even live, and now you've hurt Hinata and pinned the blame on this innocent boy! I've had enough with you."

Sasuke decided he had enough of this ridiculous feud. He slammed his palms flat on the table. "Neji, I don't know what you're problem is, but Kiba is obviously not the one you're looking for. And Hyuuga-san…" Sasuke ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sure you know my financial status. My assets are still locked until my next birthday and Uchiha Corporation has been run entirely by the board of directors, without my help. Frankly, I have no care for the business, the industry is staying afloat by itself, and I really do not understand the importance of me marrying a Hyuuga daughter. Hanabi is rich enough. She doesn't need to lift a finger in her life, so why marry me when all of us know it would be an unhappy union? Now Hinata on the other hand…" Sasuke looked straight at Neji. "Neji was made for Hinata. And yet he has nothing to his name? I think that is rather unfair."

Everyone, even Sasuke, was surprised at what he was saying.

"You're thinking about handing your company over to _him?_" Hiashi asked incredulously. "I understand if you do not care about marrying Hanabi, but Neji is a—"

"Neji has a good head for business," Sasuke replied icily. "And I wouldn't be handing it over; we'd be business partners, co-presidents. Also, he will take good care of Hinata. Won't you, Neji?"

Hiashi pressed his lips into a thin line. "I respect your decisions, Uchiha-san. Let's not let our personal lives affect our business partnership, shall we?"

"The Uchiha and Hyuuga business relations have never been stronger," Sasuke agreed. Hiashi nodded curtly and left, Hanabi trailing behind him. Sasuke couldn't believe he had said that to _Hyuuga Hiashi. _He had sworn that he would share the Uchiha Corp. with _Hyuuga Neji_. He shook it off; there was an innocent bystander Neji had dragged into the headquarters to be dealt with.

But when Sasuke looked up to address Kiba, he was gone.

* * *

_Notes by R Chama: _

_I was stuck in a rut for a little while, so to get my mind jogging, I ended up starting a prologue. It's called **Prelude**, so check it out from my user page. If the project ends up as a flop, I'll stop and work on this and other things. _

**_Chapter notes (not much for today, unless you want to ask about anything): _**

****

_The legal age in _ _Japan__ is 20 (according to limited research.) _

_Hiashi wasn't meant to turn out that way. I didn't expect to make him so cruel, but he is, and I feel bad about it. _

_Tune in to chapter FIVE for ... Kissing. That's all I've got for now. :3 _

* * *


	5. Bakuro

* * *

**Red Moonshine**

_Bakuro_

Exposure

* * *

Even though Sasuke had to admit that Kiba's fleeing of their house was pretty indicative of the truth of Neji's accusations—that Kiba was the werewolf who attacked Hinata—he could not just _let_ the demon go and kill the man. That's how Sasuke found himself struggling to keep a grip on his roommate's sweatshirt as he dug his heels into the ground. 

"Neji, I know you're mad," Sasuke panted. "Hell, I'm mad too. But chasing him down right now isn't a good idea. For one thing, do you know where he is?"

"He can't have gone far," the long haired boy growled. For all of Sasuke's efforts, they were all the way half way towards the downtown, where the clubs and bars and restaurants were. It seemed to Sasuke that Neji did have an idea of where Kiba would head. "Plus, Kiba has a distinct scent, and if I focus my senses right, I can sense his trail," Neji snarled, confirming Sasuke's suspicions.

"For another thing," Sasuke continued, "Kiba is _yakuza_, Neji. _Yakuza!_ And at that, a family heir! Don't tell me you want to get killed by thugs. And we're leaving Hinata alone at the house!"

But Neji kept plowing forward. Kiba had a ten minute head start on them, not to mention the fact that the yakuza boy must have kept running, unlike Neji, whose speed was hampered by Sasuke clinging to him for dear life.

The next thing Sasuke knew, they were outside _Atsu_, music pumping loudly from the open doors, smoke wafting out. Then they were inside, pushing through people packed tightly together. A wildly dancing girl knocked into Sasuke, causing his sore fingers to let go of Neji. With Neji's pace, Sasuke was soon alone in the club.

Cursing, Sasuke looked around for anyone familiar. Finding no one he knew, Sasuke sighed and headed to the bar, where the blond bartender was working. "Hey," Sasuke started when he sat at a stool. "Did you see a longhaired guy with a scary look on his face?"

The bartender laughed and set a glass of soda in front of him. "We get a lot of longhaired scary guys, yeah," the man told him. "Any more specific?"

"Black hair, this tall, comes in a couple times a week," Sasuke described, gesturing with his hands.

"He means Neji," came a voice behind him, yelling to be heard over the music. "I just saw him stalk by with a furious look on his face. What's going on?"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder quickly at Naruto. "He's out to get Kiba," Sasuke told him. "I just want to make sure he doesn't go overboard or something."

"Ha," laughed Naruto. "Good luck to Neji, finding him." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "In this crowded club," Naruto clarified, before quickly changing the topic. "I haven't seen you around lately."

"Maybe it's because I moved out," Sasuke snapped. He rubbed a hand over his face and said in a softer tone, "Sorry, I'm just not in a good mood right now."

"Anything I can do to help it?" Naruto asked, and suddenly Sasuke felt as if he was trapped in a dream again. Naruto had lowered his voice into a steamy, seducing type of tone, moving closer to brush his arm against Sasuke's. Sasuke knew he shouldn't be falling for Naruto's charms right now; he had something important to do, but he didn't know what it was as he looked at Naruto's face.

"A lot of things," Sasuke said. Naruto always did have that effect on him, making him forget everything and everyone else.

Naruto grinned a little predatorily before leaning in and whispering in Sasuke's ear. "Anything for _you_, Sasuke-_teme_," Naruto assured him.

* * *

"Have you seen a college sophomore around here?" Neji asked Deidara after a frustrated search through _Atsu_. "Brown hair, red tattoos on his cheeks. Goes by the name Inuzaka?" 

The bartender raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Sorry, I don't know him," the blond said.

Neji snarled. "Listen, Deidara, I've been coming to this club every fucking week," the demon hissed, suddenly reaching across to grab Deidara's collar. "It's an open secret about who runs this place and what you are. What no one does know is what I know about your bloody mixed drinks. Two weeks ago the Fire Agency picked up crates of virgin blood in a raid on an _Oto_ gang's nest. If the agencies knew _what_ was on your secret drink list, your precious red moonshine, it'd be a free for all, rivalries between hunters and agencies aside. Now, I am _not_ in the mood for your bullshit. Kiba is here and I want to see him now."

The vampire grinned, and his eyes flashed red. "Now now, Neji-_kun_," Deidara said slyly. "We don't want to be making a scene now, yeah? Because I might just have to throw you out, yeah." He coolly raised his hand high and snapped his fingers.

Neji tore his eyes away and finally came to his senses. He let go of Deidara and stepped back, turning to see that a good portion of the club was quiet and staring at his sudden outburst. To his left and right he saw people parting as tall associates of Deidara, a thick man with slicked silver hair from one side and a thinner, though no less intimidating redhead from the other. With the idle thought _this must be the security around here_, Neji made a break for it, diving headfirst into the shadows by the redhead's feet, and twisting around the darkness created by the flashing dance lights and clubbers.

In no time he was in the streets, dodging in the shadows of buildings and cars. He only finally slowed down when he reached base, stopping on the stoop to take a breath. Sasuke had been right. Going after Kiba in a fit of anger had done nobody any good. And what if someone had heard that he was keeping _Atsu_'s drink list secret from the Agency? And, oh no, did he leave Sasuke at the club?

Well, there was nothing he could do about that now. Sasuke was a big boy. He could take care of himself, right? With a defeated sigh, Neji straightened himself and entered his home.

"Welcome home, Neji-niisama," Hinata greeted as she came in from the living room. Neji smiled to see her face. She had been looking a lot better recently.

"I'm back, Hinata-sama," Neji replied. Then he noticed the bundle of black fur in her arms and frowned. "What's that?"

"This?" Instead of cradling the ball of fur, she held it up in the air to show Neji. A black cat, long and mean stared eerily at the demon. "He's a stray I invited in. He was yowling outside and I thought he'd like some fish."

"Get rid of it," Neji snapped, suddenly cold.

Hinata was shocked. "What!" she exclaimed, holding the cat close to her.

"I said get rid of it!" Neji reached out and snatched the cat by the scruff away from Hinata. The animal scratched and hissed.

"You're scaring him!" Hinata cried. "Put him down right now or-"

"_He_ is a vampire," Neji informed her. He held the screeching animal away from his face as he searched himself for a mirror. Coming up with nothing, he unsheathed his silver knife, which was polished enough to show a reflection. The cat had none. Hissing unbecomingly, the animal turned into mist, fogging up the windows and leaking out through the keyhole.

Hinata stood with her eyes wide, clenched hands up to her mouth when a furious Neji turned to face her. "Rule number one of the Fire Agency: Do not, under any circumstance, take home any animal-cat, dog, or bat- or any person of questionable intents, do you understand Hinata-sama? Vampires can shape-shift into any animal, but they can not come into a home uninvited. He may have been posing as a stray on the street, but it was your choice to invite him into the house." Hinata nodded mutely at Neji's fierce tone. Neji blinked and sighed heavily. "I apologize for raising my voice at you, Hinata-sama," he told her contritely.

"It's my fault," Hinata said, bowing her head down. "I should have thought."

Neji looked away from her, unable to understand the feeling that he should hold her and assure her she had done no wrong. "Is Sasuke back?" he asked stiffly.

"He came home a few minutes before you did," Hinata told Neji. Neji nodded shortly. Of course he hadn't needed to worry about Sasuke. "He brought Naruto-kun home with him," his mistress told him. "You should say hello."

"He brought _someone home?_" Neji exclaimed. Sasuke was a complete idiot, wasn't he. Neji had to watch him every minute, or the boy would get them all killed.

* * *

It hadn't been long after their meeting at _Atsu_ that Sasuke invited Naruto home. It wasn't to do anything sexual, he swore, because they had done nothing but talk in the club. There was a lot of small talk and a lot of arguing and it came as a surprise when Naruto leaned in and planted his lips unexpectedly onto Sasuke's. Sasuke, who had for years been secretly pining for his best friend, pushed the boy away. "Naruto, I…" he started. "We—uh, you and I, uhm." He couldn't think of how to put it that he'd come here just a couple weeks ago and woke up with a vision of Naruto's naked body swimming in his mind. He wondered if it really was a dream. "Do you want to come to my place?" he asked. "Just to talk." 

Naruto tilted his head as if to think, but he answered rather quick. "Okay!"

The walk home was just like old times, with the two of them walking home from a long day of classes when they lived together in freshman year. Naruto talked animatedly about his classes and his life in general since Sasuke left it months ago. Sasuke let his talk fill the space between them until they reached the safe house and Sasuke led Naruto inside.

"Naruto," Sasuke said after a brief greeting with Hinata and returning to Sasuke's room, "We need to talk." Or, that's what he would have said if Naruto had not chosen to pounce again, pinning him to his own bed and effectively cutting him off with his lips.

"Mm," Naruto hummed between meetings of lips, "You should have called me." His hands trailed paths over Sasuke's body, under Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke decided that two weeks ago was _not_ a dream when he remembered the feel of Naruto's lips attaching to his neck.

"You're the one who left while I was sleeping." Sasuke groaned as Naruto nibbled lightly at his neck, gasping when the teeth nipped sharply and the blond began to suck.

"The alternative was being caught by Neji," Naruto murmured with a grin against Sasuke's neck as the dark haired boy scrambled to pull Naruto's tight fitting shirt over his head.. "We don't want that, do we?" Sasuke was about to make a noise in agreement when suddenly Naruto bolted upright, looking to and fro alertly, shirt still halfway off.

Sasuke tried to sit up, a hard thing to do with Naruto straddling him the way he was. The blond hurriedly pulled the shirt back on and scrambled off of Sasuke. "I'm really sorry, I have to go," Naruto babbled. Sasuke just blinked in a dazed and confused manner.

"Where to?" he asked. Before Naruto could reply, the bedroom door swung open to reveal a furious Neji. The long haired man strode over and gripped Naruto by the neck.

"I can't believe you brought someone _home_ with you, Sasuke!" Neji exclaimed, his eyes glowing eerily. "You know the rules of the house!"

"I can explain—" Sasuke started.

"Explain why you brought a vampire home for a lay?" Neji snapped.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke hissed back. He jumped up and began attempting to pry Neji's fingers from Naruto's throat. "First Kiba, and now Naruto? Are you just going to go around accusing everybody of being a dark creature?"

"Oh my god, Uchiha. He got you, didn't he," Neji said. It wasn't a question. In shock, Sasuke, touched his bitten neck, drawing it back to see the slightest bit of blood. Immediately, he rushed to the bathroom, forgetting about everything else for a moment. If Naruto was a vampire, there would be two tiny holes right there on his throat. He tried looking for them in the mirror, only to find that his reflection was flickering like the screen of an outdated television.

"Oh my _god,"_ Sasuke whispered. He stepped backwards and slammed into the wall. This couldn't be happening. He slid down the wall and screwed his eyes shut to the world. Instantly came recollections of his mother's body lying spread eagle in her nightclothes and his father with blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth, both where their eldest son had left them dead, all for a test. All to see if his newfound capabilities were really as good as he hoped. He hadn't even had the decency to drink from the blood of his parents pooling on the floor. Since Sasuke was fifteen years old, all he had ever wanted to do was kill Itachi. How was he supposed to do that now?

"_Hello, Little Brother."_ Sasuke's eyes snapped open at the sound his brother's voice echoing in his head. He could see Itachi's cruel smirk in his head from the last time he greeted him. _ "Did you miss me?"_

* * *

_Chamakins says:_

_Oh. My. God. Finally, yeah? My last update was New Years 07. This chapter has been long over due. (A year and three weeks, say what?) Funny story about that... eheh... Er, if you've forgotten about this fic and are confused by the chapter, maybe go back and reread? If you're still confused, well, tell me what exactly you're confused on and I'll try to fix it in the next chapter (when that comes). Oh, the last two paragraphs I tried to do a tie in to Prelude, which only like, two people read. _

_ I'm a little tired of this whole faving without reviewing phenomenon that seems to be happening. I like interacting with people who read my stories, so do please try to drop a line. As an incentive, every signed review (or anon with a contact) will be replied with me including a little something special. What is it? Review and you'll find out. (And actually, each reviewer gets something unique. :3) So review! I love you all anyway!  
_

_Tune in next time for Sasuke memoirs. And Naruto lucidity (meaning not brainwashed by Itachi moment), maybe. _


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